


How to Let Mysterious Scientists and Substances Ruin Your Day

by orphan_account



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Bromance, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, MacGyver!whump, Pre-Canon, before Riley era, i guess i can tag that bc it was in the summary, in which MacGyver discovers what it's like to not be able to see stuff, its a multi-chapter!!!!, not all my stuff is angst, only most of it, or hear stuff, teen!MacGyver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-08-31 07:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8570017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: MacGyver's wondered, like almost everyone has, what it would be like to be blind or deaf. He didn't really plan on finding out.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MacGyver's on a mission when he's captured. Who wouldn't want to be threatened and then injected with a mysterious substance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a fic in the Daredevil fandom where Matt loses his hearing (Foggy the Miracle Worker, by Zelofheda on AO3).
> 
> Warnings: Nothing too bad, there's violence, but it's not that much more (if it even is more) than what's on the show.
> 
> It's set around three years before the show begins. MacGyver and Jack have been working together long enough to establish a bond that is as close as what we are shown in the show 
> 
> This entire fic is written, and chapters will be posted every 2-4 days, or once I finish editing them. The entire fic will be up before the 21st, though, and will have five chapters. 
> 
>  
> 
> I was actually pretty excited to write this, but wasn't able to finish it until today, despite starting it around the beginning (? maybe, not exactly sure when, but I know it was before the 15th) of November. 
> 
> I guess this is a bit of a celebration fic for me, because I finished NaNoWriMo, and I am almost finished with the first draft of my original novel.

MacGyver panted as he dashed through the halls of the compound. He frantically tried the doors that were scattered throughout the hall, but all of them were locked. He kept a firm lid on his panic, knowing that he need to escape the compound before he could be caught. Reaching up to the comm. that was in his ear, he muttered, “What’s your ETA?”

He waited for his team to respond. He had been assigned to a different team than just he and Jack. The reason for this? A piece of information needed to be retrieved, but the team assigned to obtain it had had the bad luck to have the person assigned to go into the compound come down with the flu at the last moment. It was easier just to have Mac be briefed on the assignment and then do the person’s job than to have the entire team switch their positions around or have different team altogether transferred to the assignment. As a result, MacGyver was working with people that he didn’t know very well.

He had spent enough time around them to realize that they didn’t like him, however. There were a lot of people in the DXS that didn’t because he was young, but had already become very well-known in the organization.

So here he was, waiting in an enemy compound, with the drive hidden in his boot- which might not seem like the ideal location, but was surprisingly secure. The team leader’s voice filtered through the comm., slightly mocking, but saying, “We’re almost there. I’m surprised you need us; can’t you just whip up some defense with air and plastic?”

MacGyver kept his mouth shut. He had learned on one of his first missions without Jack that it was better to do so when most of the team didn’t like you. Instead, he focused on trying to find a way to escape the compound. Before he got far, however, he heard a harsh voice behind him ordering him to turn, and the unmistakable sound of multiple guns cocking. He turned around to see the grimly smiling face of the man in charge of the compound- a scientist by the name of Gimrel.

Gimrel strolled through the armed men carelessly, the ugly smile on his face growing wider by the second. “So, you saw that you could not obtain the drive and decided to cut your losses and run? How predictable. Saving your own hide.”

Mac felt a sudden surge of hope. They hadn’t discovered that he had uploaded a virus to their copy of the drive, while also downloading a copy that was virus-free. He kept the emotion from his face, however, and didn’t say anything. Gimrel chuckled, a macabre sound. He said, “Well, I have the perfect punishment for you. We have more important things to do than torture an American spy, so I’m going to give you a quicker death than you would’ve had in the hands of my men. Although,” The man's cruel smile grew even wider- a truly disturbing sight. "It's not painless, I'm happy to say." 

The scientist motioned behind him for a syringe to be brought forward. MacGyver, who had previously been left standing, was suddenly grabbed by the arms and held still. His struggles were ineffective, and he could only watch as Gimrel, syringe in hand, stepped close to him. “This is something I’ve been working on for quite a while. I can’t wait to see what it’ll do to you." The man frowned suddenly, adding, "It has the strange effect of making it unnecessary for one to use the bathroom for the duration of the treatment, for some reason. A rather strange effect, if you ask me. We'll see if this new batch has any other side effects." 

MacGyver felt his breathing catch. They were going to do something to him that sounded like it would cripple him. If he was crippled, there was no way that he would be able to escape from Gimrel and his men on his own, and he wasn’t sure if the DXS would be able- or willing- to spare the manpower that would be needed to break into a compound of this size and rescue him.

Gimrel approached with the syringe, grasping MacGyver’s hair and using it to pull his head to the side, baring the blond's neck. Without any more theatrics, he plunged the needle into MacGyver’s neck. A searing pain suddenly shot through the young man's body, and he passed out almost instantaneously with an abruptly cut off scream.

Gimrel watched as the young man crumpled in the arms of the men holding him, then turned from them and tossed back as he walked away, “Toss him in the woods. He won’t survive long.”

The young man was dragged away, his head lolling and the ground scuffing his boots. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so thrilled by the response to this story! Thank all ya'll so much!

When MacGyver awoke, he couldn’t see.

It didn’t make sense that he couldn’t see because he could feel the warmth of the sun on his face, which meant that the sun was shining. The blond's hand scrabbled over the ground, trying to find a clue that would give him a hint as to where he was. He felt grass under his hands, and realized what had happened, and the implications of it. 

Gimrel had taken his sight. He had no way of knowing where he was or if Gimrel was watching him right now. MacGyver suddenly felt a hand touch his shoulder, and he flinched violently away from it. He hadn’t heard the owner of the hand approach, which could only mean one thing.

Gimrel had taken his hearing as well.

The young man froze with this new realization, suddenly hyper aware of the silence that surrounded him. He wasn’t sure if the owner of the hand was still there or not. He turned his head futilely, calling out, “Is anyone there? Hello?” 

* * *

Smith, the leader of Falcon team for the DXS, watched as his youngest (and temporary) team member swiveled his head from side to side. The kid hadn’t been responding to his comm., and when the older man had found him in the forest, he hadn’t responded to multiple repetitions of his name, either. When Smith had touched his shoulder the kid had flinched away so violently that he had ended up sprawled on the ground.

Smith cursed as he realized what must have happened. “He can't see or hear us.”

His fellow team member, a man of forty-three, responded with disbelief. Smith cut through his voice though, and squashed the bit of guilt he felt about having delayed a bit in getting to the kid. He would admit, to himself only, that he and his partner could’ve gotten there a bit faster, and maybe saved the kid from this. They had wanted to hear MacGyver sweat a bit though, and hadn’t thought that he might actually be caught.

Smith looked down at the kid that was still sprawled on the ground, his movements slowing and becoming slightly less frantic as he apparently decided that he was alone. The older man sighed at the thought of having to break that illusion, but decided that moving slowly had no point to it, and so simply lunged for the blond. Smith knew that he had to get the younger man back to the stealth plane; he just hoped that he wouldn’t have to hurt the kid to get him there.

The teen reacted violently to Smith suddenly grabbing his upper arm. He jerked back violently, then tried to punch Smith in the face. His aim was off, given that he couldn’t see, and he ended up hitting the older man's chest instead. MacGyver let out a faint sound of muffled pain, shaking his obviously hurt hand, but continued his attempts at fighting. Smith, frustrated with the delay, simply put the blond in a headlock. The younger man immediately stilled, realizing the danger he was in. Smith squeezed lightly, not enough to hurt the younger man too seriously, but enough to let him know that it was in his best interests to stop resisting.

Cautiously, once MacGyver had been quiet for a few moments, he slowly let the man go. MacGyver turned slowly, holding onto Smith’s arm, and Smith allowed it, thinking that maybe the blond was beginning to realize that he wasn’t in danger.

MacGyver suddenly lunged at Smith, tackling his midsection, and driving him to the ground. Smith didn’t think, and reacted on instinct. He quickly and efficiently pinned the smaller man to the ground and roughly pulled his hands behind him. He grabbed the pair of restraints that the field agents always had on them while on a mission, and secured MacGyver’s hands in them.

Dragging the younger man to his feet, he felt a slight prick of guilt at the way the young man’s face was contorting, obviously trying not to show fear, but that was pretty hard when you were restrained and had been apparently attacked by someone hostile to you and you couldn’t even see or hear them.

Shaking away his doubts in the interest of making it back to the stealth plane- and a cure, hopefully- as quickly as possible, Smith began to jog back in the direction he had originally come from. He kept a firm hold on the top of MacGyver’s left arm and the back of his shirt, using these handholds to keep the younger man on his feet as painlessly as possible whenever the blond tripped.

Smith had to admit, though, that the feeling of guilt that had begun to take root grew more intense every time he heard the younger man’s breath hitch ever so slightly when he did have to use the handholds to keep the man on his feet.

They made it back to the stealth plane as fast as they could given their current situation. The oldest team member, Johnson, met them outside the plane. He gave a low whistle as he saw the state of the youngest member of the team. “What did they _do_ to him?”

Smith shrugged harshly. “Don’t know. I just hope it’s reversible, because I don’t want to deal with Dalton if it isn’t.”

The man’s protectiveness of his friend was well-known throughout the DXS; had been ever since someone tried to take the kid down a few pegs on a mission where MacGyver had disagreed with their methods. From that time on, it was best to leave the teen alone.

Smith began to push MacGyver up the ramp onto the plane, but the blond apparently felt the change in the material of the ground underneath his feet and began to struggle. Smith tightened his grip in an attempt to keep the younger man from breaking free, but found it increasingly hard as the kid’s struggles became more and more frantic and disjointed. Johnson stepped forward and grabbed the teen's other arm and put a firm hand on the back of his neck, exerting pressure on the pressure points that were there.

The man didn’t push hard enough to seriously hurt MacGyver, but hard enough to put him in a bit of pain in an attempt to control the younger man. Thankfully, it worked and Smith didn’t have to do anything as drastic as hitting the kid.

They finally got him onto the plane, calling out to the pilot to take off as they finished hauling the blond inside. They got MacGyver down to a kneeling position on the floor by dint of their combined muscle mass alone. The teen continued to struggle against them, trying to throw them off of him in desperation. Smith finally- although reluctantly- hit him in the back of the head hard enough to temporarily daze him.

The two men knew that the drive was somewhere on the younger man, but he hadn’t specified where when he said that he had hidden it. Smith decided to start with his boots, as that was where many Phoenix Foundation operatives were told to hide small things. The boots had a secret compartment in the sole that made it difficult for enemies to find what the operatives had hidden.

Smith pulled off MacGyver’s left boot first while Johnson held the young man in his kneeling position. The blond had gone very still as he recovered from the blow to the head. Smith was willing to bet that he was praying that the compartment wouldn’t be found, but would also be nervous that when his perceived enemies couldn’t find what they were looking for, they would try to make him talk by force.

Smith opened the compartment and found no drive. He reached for the second boot, prying it off with some difficulty as the kid began to squirm again. He was stilled once again by Johnson exerting force on the pressure points on his neck, though.

Smith smiled as he held up the drive to show Johnson. Johnson lifted a hand to give a sarcastic thumbs-up, and MacGyver must’ve tried to escape again, because the next thing Smith knew, he was on his back on the floor with a smarting nose and Johnson had the kid pinned to the floor, fury sparking dangerously in his eyes. The older man lifted the kid up slightly before slamming him back down onto the floor. Smith internally winced, knowing that the blond would definitely have some bruises on his face the next day. At least he hadn’t been on his back, as being slammed down onto his hands would’ve been an even less pleasurable experience.

Smith forced himself up into a sitting position, carefully checking to see if there was blood. There was, and he cursed. Johnson looked up at him, and then stood to get the first aid kit from the side of the plane. As he did so, he reassured the pilot that everything was fine, as the man had begun to cast concerned looks back towards the cargo area of the plane. When he returned with the first aid kit, MacGyver had begun to stir. Johnson quickly booted him in the side, eliciting a harsh cry of pain from the kid. Smith sighed. “Dave, c’mon. The kid’s obviously terrified.”

Dave snorted as he looked at his friend while he handed him gauze to stop the bleeding. “Yeah, and he obviously thinks he’s with enemies. He’s gonna keep fighting back unless we do something about it. And I don’t know about you, but I am not about to spend a six hour flight trying to keep the kid from attacking us every chance he gets.”

Smith reached up to rub the bridge of his nose before stopping himself. “I know, but we can’t just beat him up. Thornton’ll have our heads if we do, not to mention Dalton.”

Johnson rubbed the bridge of _his_ nose, having no such nose-related injury to stop him. “Fine. What do you suggest we do?”

Smith let his eyes wander around the interior of the plane. He motioned to the seats on the side that were equipped with straps in case of turbulence. “We could stick him in one of those. Cuff his hands in front over the belts.”

Johnson eyes the seats critically, then glanced at the young man on the floor who had struggled into a seated, cross-legged position. “It could work.”

Smith sighed for what felt like the millionth time. “We’re going to have to do this fast. Ready?”

Johnson got to his feet and nodded. Together, the two men grabbed MacGyver, pulling him up from his seated position. Smith quickly unlocked the cuffs from behind the young man’s back- and then Johnson slammed him into the side of the plane, driving the air from the blond’s lungs with a forceful huff. Smith was startled; this wasn’t the plan. He was too shocked to say anything, though, before Johnson had repeated his actions twice more. Smith surged forwards, grabbing Johnson’s forearm. “ _What are you doing?_ ”

Johnson glared at him. “Stopping him from fighting back.”

Smith glared right back. “I think he’s been stopped. Look at him,” He motioned to the young man, who was hanging in the grip of Johnson and desperately trying to get air back into his lungs, “Do you really think he’s going to fight back?”

Johnson shrugged, looking stubbornly non-repentant. Smith reached forward and swiftly took MacGyver’s hands, locking them into the cuffs in front of his body. The kid flinched violently at the sudden movement, his hands attempting to move apart and in front of him to protect himself but were stopped because of the cuffs.

It made Smith feel sick.

Together the two men got the youngest into the seat, uncuffing his hands once more before re-cuffing them over the front of the seat. The teen was barely moving, keeping his head low and obviously trying not to aggravate his captors more than he apparently already had. Smith watched hi, and felt a twinge on unease strike him again, harder than the last few times. He realized that every time he had seen the blond, he had been full of life, and to see him like this, subdued and quiet, just seemed _wrong_.

Smith sighed, and hoped yet again that whatever had happened could be fixed easily.

The plane hit turbulence three hours away from the Phoenix HQ. For the two men that were unrestrained and in possession of all of their senses, it wasn’t a big deal. For the young man that was currently unable to hear the pilot announce beforehand that they would be hitting some turbulence, however, it was terrifying.

Johnson and Smith sat side by side as the turbulence hit. They were undisturbed by it, having experienced it many times before, and knowing from what the pilot said that there was nothing to worry about. The first time the plane rocked, however, there was a sudden yelp, cut off abruptly. Both men instinctively glanced at the source of the sound- MacGyver. The kid had planted both feet on the floor, slightly apart, in what Smith could only assume was an effort to stabilize himself. Every muscle in the kid’s body was tensed, as was obvious from the rigid lines that currently made up his posture. He began to relax slightly, but tensed up again as soon as the plane hit more turbulence.

Smith cursed and began to stand, but Johnson grabbed his arm, keeping him seated. “You can’t do anything. With the way he’s been reacting, he’ll probably just think you’re about to throw him off of the plane or something.”

Smith cursed again, but remained seated. He could see the logic in Johnson’s words.

The two men watched for a long five minutes as every time the plane shook, even only slightly, the kid became more and more tense until he was wound as tight as a coiled spring. When the turbulence finally stopped, it took the young man another five minutes to lose some of the tenseness that had taken over his body. Smith could only feel grateful that they would be reaching the DXS buildings soon. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been getting a lot of comments, especially over at FF.net, about Johnson and Smith and their use of pressure points. Here's the explanation for why they're using them. 
> 
> While Smith and Johnson are, admittedly, being very careless with their team mate's safety, they're not hurting him that much with the pressure points. They are pushing down just enough to hurt him a little, but it's more to imply a threat and show that they're in a position of power so he will quit fighting back, which would force them to actually hurt him. The use of pressure points is about the only thing they did right in this story. They do use them for too long at points, but that relates to the next paragraph in this A/N.
> 
> However, that doesn't justify their actions in the way that they let MacGyver stay on his own in danger longer than they had to, and the way that Johnson, especially, has been treating him. I hope that my solution to this situation and in dealing with their behavior is realistic, and satisfying to all of the readers. I can't say what it is (spoilers!) but I think that ya'll will enjoy it. 
> 
> Special thanks to TinkerBella for allowing me to use the buildings owned by the DXS in this story. She came up with the idea, and was kind enough to let me borrow it.

The plane touched down on the landing pad at the top of one of the DXS’s buildings. These buildings were owned by the agency for the express purpose of letting agents or the people who were being protected by the DXS use the buildings if they were in danger.

Smith and Johnson managed to haul MacGyver off of the plane, although he was struggling quite a bit. At the front desk they were told which room was currently being unused that was the easiest to access. With a quick thanks to the obviously curious agent working the front desk, they made their way to said room. When they arrived there, they forced MacGyver to sit on the floor by the couch using their combined weight and strength. Once he was in a seated position, they proceeded to uncuff his hands, and then re-cuff them around the leg of the couch quickly. Smith sat on the couch, ensuring the younger man wouldn’t be able to lift up one end of it to release himself. Johnson sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. “I’ll go tell Thornton that we’re here.”

Smith nodded and watched his partner leave the room. When Johnson walked past MacGyver he suddenly tripped, catching himself just in time to avoid falling flat on the floor. He turned to the captive man with a furious look on his face. “The kid tripped me,” he fumed angrily. Smith was able to grab his arm before Johnson did anything more than grab the kid’s shirt. “Dave, he still thinks he’s with enemies, remember?”

Johnson breathed out slowly, obviously on edge from the entire situation. He released MacGyver’s shirt, and the blond immediately tried to back away from where he thought the man was standing, or as far away as he could with his hands still cuffed to the couch. It wasn't that far, obviously, but Johnson didn't take advantage of the fact and merely began to walk out the door. Before he left, he turned to Smith and said, "I know how you think. Don't let him out of those cuffs. And make sure he doesn't get his hands on anything to release himself, okay?" 

Smith rubbed his hand over his face. "Jeez, okay, fine." 

With that, Johnson left to contact the director of the Phoenix Foundation. 

* * *

Smith watched his charge intently. The kid had been doing something for the past few minutes, after he apparently decided that his best bet in escaping would be to figure out where he was first. MacGyver was running his hands over the carpet, frowning slightly. The material was obviously confusing him. Smith watched as he brought his hands along the floor to the leg of the sofa that he was cuffed to. The young man felt along it, his frown becoming more pronounced when he ran out of wood to feel and the substance under his fingertips became soft. He let a "What?" escape him at a normal volume, making Smith think that either the kid didn't know that he was speaking at a normal volume or he thought he was alone. Either way, Smith didn't really care.

The older man passed thirty minutes watching MacGyver try to escape his bindings. In that time the kid tried to pick the lock with a staple that he pried from the cloth on the bottom of the sofa, causing Smith to have to confiscate the stapler. When Smith had tried to grab the small piece of metal from the younger man's hands MacGyver had head-butted him, giving Smith a painful black eye. 

The man was feeling a bit resentful after that. As such, he waited perhaps a moment longer than he should have when the kid gave up on trying to escape his bindings with smartness and resorted to brute force. He began yanking on the handcuffs, apparently trying to break them open with brute force. Smith's eyes widened as he saw painful-looking red marks begin appear on the younger man's wrists, and stepped forward to stop him from dislocating his wrists or severely injuring them. 

He had just grabbed the kid's hands in one large hand and used his other to grab the kid firmly by the shoulder to hold him still when the door flew open. 

In strode Jack Dalton, partner of MacGyver, protector of innocents, defender of the weak- well, perhaps not the last two. But the way he looked when strode into the room, with his eyes ablaze with fury, and a hint of worry hidden in there as well, he seemed to resemble the knights that had tales told about them and were described in the same such way. 

Dalton took in the scene quickly, surging forward and throwing Smith off of MacGyver, holding him up against the wall. "What," he hissed, his eyes narrowed in fury, "Do you think you're doing?" 

Smith held his hands up in the universal sign of surrender as he tried to placate the furious man. "Calm down, Dalton. I was just trying to stop MacGyver from hurting himself. Look," He pointed a finger behind Jack, "He's doing it again." 

Jack turned to see his partner doing his best to escape once again. He stepped forward to stop the kid, releasing Smith, but Johnson got there first. He used the same trick as earlier, pressing down on the kid's pressure points. The younger agent stopped reluctantly, only coming to a full stop when the older man exerted a forceful jab at each point he had his thumbs on. The kid winced, his shoulders immediately hunching, but Johnson didn't stop until Jack knocked his hands away. "He stopped." 

Johnson shrugged, a slight scowl on his face. "I was just making sure he got the message so that he wouldn't try again." 

Jack growled, low in his throat, but knew that the other man was correct. He settled for ignoring Johnson, turning instead to squat by his friend. MacGyver had turned his head slightly in confusion as Johnson's hands suddenly disappeared from his shoulders; Jack gently grasped his friend's chin to try and see his eyes. The brunet was forced to tighten his grip, however, when MacGyver tried to rip his chin out of the older man's grasp. Jack turned the blond's head to try and see his eyes, but MacGyver had squeezed them shut. 

Smith suspected uncharitably, but most likely correctly, that the kid was doing it just to be stubborn. 

* * *

Jack sighed after another minute. "I called the doctors as soon as I heard what happened. Thornton'll be here as soon as she can. Right now she's on a flight from Russia. She was leaving tomorrow anyways." 

Smith nodded. He rubbed his hand over his face. "Now we just have to keep him busy until the doctors get here. Or at least not hurting himself in an attempt to escape." 

Johnson snorted from where he was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed."Or stop him from hurting us." 

Smith's hand went up automatically towards his eye, but stopped short of touching it. Johnson's eyes followed his movement, seeing for the first time the large black eye that had begun to form. The man's black expression grew even darker; out of the corner of his eye Smith saw Jack inch a bit closer to MacGyver. 

The three of them lapsed into silence, the only sound breaking the stillness the occasional rustle of MacGyver's clothing or the jangle of his binders. He attempted to move a bit too close to Jack, who had sat on the sofa next the leg that MacGyver was cuffed to, a couple times, and flinched back violently whenever he met the man's warm leg. Smith pretended not to notice the wounded expression that appeared for a split second on the agent's face whenever this happened, glad that Johnson was doing the same. He really didn't want to get into a fight with Dalton.

Finally, after another ten minutes or so, the doctor arrived, grey-haired, but still seemingly spry. Jack seemed to recognize the elderly man, standing up and greeting him as a 'Doctor Maol.' The man approached MacGyver, stopping short of touching him while he prepared his equipment. When he did have to examine MacGyver, however, he turned to Johnson. "Do me a favor and hold him still, would you?" 

Jack stepped forward at the same time as Johnson. "I can do that, Doc." 

The doctor peered at him over the rims of his glasses. "I think not. Poor Angus here is going to struggle quite a bit, and you won't be able to hold him still without being very firm. You're not going to want to hurt your friend, but Johnson here can be more objective than you in this case." 

Jacks stepped back, albeit reluctantly. Johnson knelt by the younger man, waiting for the go-ahead from Maol. When the gray-haired man gave it, he grabbed the younger man in a bear hug, except very tightly. The younger man tried to struggle, but his arms were effectively pinned to his sides, and his hands were trapped by the handcuffs. His head was bobbing wildly, trying to evade anything that would come close to him. Maol grabbed the younger man's chin in a surprisingly firm grip, holding it still. 

The kid tried to squeeze his eyes shut again, but when Johnson began to tighten his arms, he opened them, feeling the tight grip relax ever so slightly when he did so. Maol grabbed a ophthalmoscope* and shone it directly into the trapped agent's pupils before humming slightly and moving on to check his ears. There was no sound in the room other than the doctor's moving and the panicked gasps that shook MacGyver's slight frame every so often. 

Jack looked miserable. Smith didn't envy him one bit. 

Maol quickly concluded his exam, turning to pack up his kit as he spoke. "You can let him go now, Johnson." The man did so, and MacGyver immediately hunched in on himself, obviously unsure if he could move without hitting someone hostile to him. Maol continued speaking. "From what I can tell, this is the same strain of a virus that we've run into before. It causes the person who received it to lose access to their senses for about twelve to fourteen hours. He was injected around eight hours ago, I'd say he has around six left before we need to start worrying." 

Smith could see Jack's face pale. Six more hours of hell for MacGyver, six more hours where he was completely isolated from everyone.

Jack nodded at the doctor. "Thanks." 

Maol looked sympathetically at Jack. "I know it's hard, but there's nothing you can do. Just- stay here with him. Try not to make him feel threatened. Also, try to get him to drink some water. He will be extremely dehydrated if he hasn't drank anything since he was injected. I doubt he will eat anything, but water would be good." 

Jack rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly looking the most defeated and tired that Smith had ever seen him. "Okay." 

Maol walked out the door. Smith and Johnson glanced at each other, conversing silently. Smith spoke up. "We're gonna go to the front desk and get another room. Leave you two alone for a while." 

Jack glanced at the other agent, a knowing glint in his eye. He knew that the other two agents were leaving so as not to see MacGyver when he was this vulnerable. He quietly nodded his thanks, and watched as the other two men left, shutting the door behind them. 

Then he turned to look at the hunched figure on the floor and sighed. This was going to be the longest six hours of his life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter. Let me know what you thought! 
> 
> *Ophthalmoscope: that thing doctors shine in your eye when they're checking it. At least, according to Google.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People have been wondering why Jack doesn't use Morse Code to contact Jack, as both of them know it in canon. The answer's in here.
> 
> Remember when Maol told Jack that MacGyver was going to need water?? I hope you do.

**Hour 1:**

Jack sat on the floor five feet away from his friend and watched the kid huddle, shivering, on the floor. 

He felt completely helpless, and he hated it. His friend was suffering, right in front of him, and he couldn't do anything. He was just sitting there, watching, while the kid was terrified to move, lest he be attacked. 

The older man cursed violently, not bothering to do it silently. No one in the room could hear him anyway. He was furious at the situation. He was furious at Mac's team for letting this happen. He was furious with himself for not insisting that the kid learn Morse Code instead of putting it off to learn Russian instead. If only he had insisted on the teen learning even the very basics of Morse, then maybe this situation could've been avoided.

Jack didn't move for about ten minutes. He finally stood when the kid's shivering became too much for him to sit quietly and bear. The man hastily found a blanket and returned with it in hand, only to find the kid yanking his arms again, trying to weaken the binders. Jack set the blanket on the ground, shaking his head sadly. "Oh, buddy," He murmured softly, "I'm sorry." 

Jack knelt by his friend, grasping his hands in order to stop the blond from injuring himself. Angus, when he felt the touch on his wrists, flinched backwards violently. He was breathing harshly, a discordant sound that sawed at Jack's heartstrings. 

Jack moved away from his friend, standing and picking up the blanket. He walked towards Angus and draped it around his shoulders, watching as the young man stiffened in shock, then slowly untensed. He let his skinny shoulders droop just a bit, allowing the blanket to slide forward over him and the edge to come to a rest on his neck. Jack watched in satisfaction as the shivering gradually stopped. 

The older man resumed his silent watch, thankful that he had been able to stop the shivering, but still unhappy that he couldn't do more. 

* * *

 

**Hour 2:**

Jack looked at his watch. It had been about an hour since the Doc had left, meaning his friend had around five more hours to go. Jack didn't know if he could watch his friend suffer for that long, but reminded himself that he couldn't exactly do anything except leave MacGyver alone, and that wasn't going to happen. Not in a million years. After another glance at his watch, Jack decided to get something to drink from the kitchenette. He would still be able to see MacGyver, and he was becoming uncomfortably thirsty. The man stood and walked over to the cabinets. He found a glass and filled it with water from the fridge. As he was drinking, he glanced at MacGyver, and began to think. 

The kid probably hadn't had anything to drink in hours, and was most likely parched right now. Also, Maol had said to make sure he drank some water. Jack found another cup- plastic- and filled it up halfway with water before approaching his friend. He knelt by the younger man, setting the cup on the ground where Jack could reach it, but where it would be safely out of the way of flailing appendages. 

He was almost instantly glad he had placed it out of the way, because the moment he touched MacGyver's shoulder, the kid kicked out with his leg- hard. Jack, remembering Johnson's trick from earlier, grabbed one of MacGyver's shoulders. The kid stilled, his eyes scrunched up, as if expecting pain. 

It made Jack hurt to see it. 

The man grabbed the cup he had set behind him, more glad than ever that he had only filled it halfway with water. He kept one hand on MacGyver's shoulder, keeping him still, while slowly bringing the other hand up, tightly clutching the cup. He brought the cup to MacGyver's lips, unsurprised when the blond jerked his head back and closed his lips so tightly that they were white underneath the pressure. The teen tried to move away from Jack, but since he was both blind and deaf at the moment, he couldn't tell where, exactly, the other man was. MacGyver settled for hunching in on himself, the blanket pooled behind him after having been dislodged in his struggles. 

Jack was forced to push down a bit on the pressure points on MacGyver's neck and shoulders, making the blond squirm underneath his firm grip in an attempt to escape until the teen realized that he wasn't going to be released until he held still. Reluctantly, the kid did so, and opened his mouth when Jack bumped the rim of the cup against his lips. Once the blond realized that there seemed to be nothing but water in the cup, however, he began to drink eagerly. Jack pulled the cup away after it was empty. He refrained from giving the kid any more, knowing that it could be unsafe to give MacGyver a lot of water if he hadn't had any for a long period of time. 

Jack set the cup in the kitchen and watched as MacGyver huddled in on himself again, the shivers that had wracked his body earlier coming back in full force. The older man scooped up the blanket from behind MacGyver and rested it on the younger man's shoulders yet again, watching in satisfaction as the shaking of the smaller man's body began to subside.

* * *

 

**Hour 3:**

It was mid-way through hour three when MacGyver began to become agitated. Jack, remembering what the doctor had said about his senses returning slowly, watched in an agony of suspense. However, the only thing that happened was MacGyver's eyes beginning to roll up into his head as his eyelids slid shut and he began to fall bonelessly forward. Jack, taken by surprise, was barely able to catch the younger man before he seriously hurt himself by falling awkwardly on the cuffs. 

When the kid didn't respond at all, Jack immediately went for his pulse. To his relief, it was strong and steady, and there seemed to be no need for the doctor to be called back. Jack, a bit hesitant at first, eventually unlocked the cuffs from around the couch, wanting to know what was wrong with his friend. He felt as if the kid was perhaps worn out from exhaustion, and had simply passed out from that, but the blond suddenly shot up from the position on the floor that Jack had set him in. He bolted in the direction of the door- probably out of sheer luck- and was almost there before Jack regained his wits. 

The brunet crossed the room in four large strides, reaching out and snagging the back of Angus' shirt. He hauled him backwards, enveloping him into a large bear hug, and held firm against all of the struggling that his young friend did. After a few moments, the blond seemed to realize that fighting was useless, especially in his weakened state, and allowed himself to be hauled over to the couch. He sank into a sitting position easily, looking exhausted, and Jack felt another pang of frustration that he could barely do anything to help his friend. He forced himself to re-cuff MacGyver's hands to the couch, however, and comforted himself with the knowledge that this was better for everyone in the long run.

It didn't help much. 

* * *

**Hour 4:**

Around forty-five minutes after MacGyver's ill-fated escape attempt, the kid began to tilt towards the side of the couch, but once his head touched the rough fabric, he jerked his entire body upright. He had a bit of a wary expression on his face, as if he were expecting to be hit for showing some kind of weakness, and that made Jack's blood boil. He watched, half amused, half furious with the situation, as the process was repeated several times. 

The blond resembled a sleepy toddler that was attempting to keep from falling asleep in their carseat. 

Finally, the blond lost the fight and ended up leaning against the side of the couch in what looked like a very uncomfortable angle. Jack watched as his friend twitched and flinched in his sleep, at times attempting to raise his hands, only to have them restrained by the cuffs that enveloped his wrists. 

Jack watched in agony, knowing that if he attempted to soothe the nightmares he would only add to them. 

* * *

**Hour 5:**

Half way through hour five, things started to change. Angus had woken from his impromptu nap and was sitting still, his head down, his posture one of defeat. However, he gradually began to show signs of irritation on his face, and had begun to rub his ears against his shoulders, switching sides every so often, as if in an attempt to muffle some noise that only he could hear. His face was scrunched up as well, his eyelids windows that had been slammed shut and locked against a storm of stimuli. 

The boy continued these actions for a few minutes, making Jack more than a little worried. The older man returned to the kitchen where he had left his cell phone and dialed Doctor Maol's phone number. He waited impatiently as the phone rang, then turned away from the living room for a moment as the man on the other end of the line picked up. "Hey, Jack, what's up?" 

Jack, in a rough tone rubbed raw by worry, answered, "It's Mac. He's acting really agitated, and I'm kinda worried." 

The doctor was patient as he said, "There'll be a few strange symptoms. He might seem a bit agitated, like you said, but it's all normal. The only thing to be worried about is making sure that he doesn't hurt himself." 

Jack turned back to his friend in the living room, one hand running through his hair in frustration. "Well, if you-" 

The man cut off suddenly, frozen by the sight in the living room. Angus was convulsing, his hands spasming in the cuffs and his body jerking wildly. Jack shouted into the phone, "Doc, he's seizing, you need to get here  _yesterday_." The man hit the 'End Call' button and dropped the phone as he dashed towards MacGyver.

Jack dropped to his knees beside his friend, doing his best to hold him still as he attempted to remove the cuffs at the same time. Without warning, the door banged open, and Smith and Johnson appeared in the doorway. They took in the scene instantly and immediately began to assist Jack. Johnson helped him hold the blond still enough for Smith to undo the cuffs; together, the three men moved the youngest to the open space in the middle of the room. Jack returned to the living room and retrieved a pillow to place underneath the younger man's head so he wouldn't hurt himself. Smith ran to the kitchen to call for the paramedics that were on call and worked for the Phoenix Foundation. 

Within two minutes the paramedics had arrived, and MacGyver's struggles had begun to die down. That would've been a good thing- except he wasn't responding to anything and his pulse was dropping fast. Jack watched helplessly as his best friend was loaded onto a gurney and taken out the doors to the waiting ambulance. Johnson took his arm and said something to Smith before leading the brunet out the doors and into Johnson and Smith's car. Then, with Jack sitting in the passenger seat and praying desperately for his friend, Johnson began the drive to the hospital. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do people who have me on alert hate me bc of all the alerts that I send out bc of all the stuff I post??? Like seriously it's gotta be annoying


	5. Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack waits for the outcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations surprise its up early woohoo everyone celebrate
> 
> edit 12/10/16 jenks has been changed to johnson im so embarrassed

Jack sat in the hospital waiting room, his hands fisted together, his head bent, his gaze fixed on the drab carpeting. He waited impatiently for news of his friend, as he had been for the past seven hours. 

Finally, a nurse emerged from the depths of hospital and poked her head into the waiting room. She looked around as she said, "Family of Angus MacGyver?" 

Jack stood, walking over to her. "That's me." 

The petite nurse smiled up at him. "Good news. He's going to be just fine. In fact," The nurse pointed down the hallway, "You can go see him right now, if you want. Room 418." 

Jack thanked her with a nod and headed down the hall to the correct room. He was greeted with the sight of his friend lying motionless on the bed, his pale form covered with a sheet pulled halfway up his chest. The sight seemed wrong, somehow, if only because of the fact that MacGyver's normally restless hands were lying pale and still on the blanket. 

Jack sat down in the chair beside the bed and the vigil began. 

* * *

The moment his friend made the slightest sound, Jack was awake and peering at the blond with anxious eyes. Blue eyes widened with surprise as they took in the sight of Jack. MacGyver groaned as he tried to talk, and the older man quickly turned and grabbed the cup of ice chips that he had been instructed by a friendly nurse to give his friend when he awoke. Carefully, he spooned some of the ice into MacGyver's mouth, who let out a sigh of relief as his dry throat was given some relief. He cleared his throat, then spoke. "You guys got me back?" 

Jack frowned, a little confused. Then his mind processed what Angus no doubt thought had happened. "No, buddy, Smith and Jenks found you in the forest." 

Blond eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I thought I was with- with-" He trailed off as he tried to remember the name of the man that had drugged him, but apparently decided it was unimportant. His hand twitched, as if he were trying to wave it but was too weak to do so, as he continued. "With whoever that guy was this whole time." 

Jack shook his head, his gut clenching in apprehension. He hoped his friend wouldn't be mad with them for what they had had to do. "No. You were with DXS operatives almost the whole time. They- we- had to restrain you to keep you from hurting yourself, or us, for that matter. We tried to be as gentle as possible, but-" Jack shrugged breaking off. "You're a pretty good scrapper, kid." 

The older man was relieved to see that there was no anger on his friend's face, just acceptance. "Makes sense." 

Jack ran a hand over his face, the stress of the twenty-four hours catching up with him. "Oh, don't ever do that to me again, kid." 

Angus frowned in confusion. "Do what?" 

Jack met his friends eyes seriously as he said, "You flatlined three times. They were barely able to keep you alive*." 

MacGyver's eyes widened and he mouthed a silent 'oh' as Jack continued. "Whatever that guy gave you was bad. You had some kind of reaction to it, but apparently it was pretty delayed. I don't know the specifics, but it sounded like once your hearing and sight returned, the first chemical broke down into two other simpler chemicals, and you had a severe reaction to one of them that sent you into cardiac arrest. And then, if that wasn't enough, your appendix burst." 

The kid looked down at his stomach, reaching to poke his bandages. Jack sighed through his nose and grabbed the kid's hand. "Don't do that." 

MacGyver looked up sheepishly at the older man. "Well, that explains why my stomach hurts so much." 

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, now I know you're fine. Trying to poke your injuries and then telling me things hurt after the fact." 

Angus grinned at his older friend. "Seriously, though, I'm glad you're here, Jack." The blond's gaze dropped to the bedspread and he picked at the white blanket. "It was- terrifying. I couldn't see anything or hear anything, and I just. I was so- so alone, I guess. And it was terrifying. Because I thought that they still had me, and I didn't know what they were gonna do. And I just. I just- I don't know." 

Jack felt a lump develop in his throat as he looked at his young friend. "Can't say it was too much fun to sit there and watch you when you were convinced that you were in enemy hands, either." 

Gently, careful not to disturb his friend's injuries, Jack drew the younger man into a soft hug. Angus leaned into the embrace, feeling safe for the first time in days. Jack said, mainly joking to relieve the tension in the room but also half-serious, "I'm making you learn Morse before you get out of here." 

MacGyver laughed, stopping abruptly when the movement of his chest hurt his still-healing wounds. "Fair enough." 

Jack held the younger man for another minute or two, then drew back a bit when he heard a tiny snore coming from the younger man. Jack smiled in fond amusement as he realized that Angus had literally fallen asleep on his shoulder, exhausted by the events of the past few days. The pain relievers he was on no doubt had contributed to his sudden slumber, but that didn't make it any less amusing- or cute. 

Jack laid his friend back carefully. At that moment, Patricia appeared at the door. She had a look of worry on her face, as she had been receiving updates from some of the DXS doctors stationed at the hospital, but she was still worried for her agent- her friend. Jack held a finger to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet, and then pointed to the slumbering figure on the bed. The woman smiled in relief, her brown eyes losing some of the worried gleam that they had held moments before. 

The woman drew up a chair by Jack, and the two watched their young friend sleep on, oblivious to the world, as they basked in the knowledge that he was safe.

Presently, Thornton broke the silence. "Smith and Johnson got an official reprimand for their actions. They admitted that they should've tried to get to Mac sooner." 

Jack frowned. "A slap on the wrist? That's all they get?" 

Thornton shrugged. "I wish we could do more, but they can claim any number of things that would let them off the hook. Officially, this is the best we could get." There was a beat of silence, then the woman continued. "Unofficially, their next mission is a three-week stint in Siberia. And the one after that is a month in the Sahara." 

Jack looked over at the woman beside him, a grin splitting his weathered face. "Wow, Patty. Didn't know you could be so devious." 

Patricia smiled, a quick expression that slid off her face quickly. She cleared her throat, but there was still a hint of a smile on her face as she said, "I don't know what you're talking about." 

The two sat in silence and watched MacGyver rest, content in the knowledge that he was safe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A doctor eventually told Jack what happened while he was waiting for MacGyver to wake up.
> 
> Well, here it is. My first real multi-chapter fic that has all of the chapters relating to the same thing and I set out knowing it was going to be a multi-chapter. Thanks for sticking with me, and drop a comment to let me know how you liked it!


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